The Black Boy, Belper

Official site of Black Boy - blackboyheage.co.uk

Official site of Black Boy - blackboyheage.co.uk

This is a nice stone-built pub in one of the villages up the hill from Belper. Outside, a decent part of the pub’s car parking area had been given over to picnic benches, presumably as part of the recent restrictions that required drinkers to remain outside. The front entrance leads through to the main bar area which has distinct front and rear seating areas. The bar is over in the rear right corner and has an angular wood panelled counter with a matching canopy supported by a row of nicely worked wooden pillars. The rear part of the room has a nice quarry stone floor, whereas the front section is carpeted, giving it more of a lounge feel, complete with an attractive stone fireplace on the right-hand wall. Both front and back sections have some very comfy looking button backed banquettes, but it seemed like the staff were trying to keep this room empty, as no-one was sat here. Through a door to the left, you move into a small dining room in what appeared to be an extension to the original property. Here, a couple of rows of tables with typical dining room chairs ran down either side of a bare boarded room with plain white walls off-set by a single exposed stone wall. Décor included a lot of unusual decorative items including a very large clock and a lattice-effect mirror. It seemed that a few customers were going to and from a room I didn’t get a chance to explore, possibly on another floor, which suggests that further dining spaces are available. A door to the rear takes you out to a well presented, split-level sun terrace, with plenty more benches and a good amount of cover, which was pretty busy even when we left with the sun having long since set. They had four handpulls in operation when we arrived, with a choice between Taylors Landlord, St Austell tribute, Marston’s Pedigree and Thwaites Wainwrights, plus a few keg options including Banks’ Mild. My pint of Wainwright was in good nick and went down very nicely after a long day stuck in traffic on the M1. We also decided to eat here and had plenty of choice from a hefty menu. I tried the steak and ale pie, which was a proper shortcrust homemade pie that surpassed just about every pie I’ve ever had in a pub. Our desserts were also excellent and the waitress who served us was really welcoming and friendly. This felt like a bit of a hidden gem, seemingly reliant on local trade but very hospitable to random passers-by such as ourselves. Whilst the beer selection could’ve perhaps used a local guest ale as opposed to four national brands, there wasn’t too much to complain about here and I’d definitely recommend the place to anyone in or around the area as a great place for a good meal and well-kept pint.

The Black Boy is a stone built pub that looks fairly decent from the outside. Once inside this pub was quite smart and comfortable and there were three real ales on the bar i had a drink of Adnams bitter which was a very nice drink the other beers were Pedigree and Greene King Swing Low. I thought this was a fairy decent pub to have a few drinks in.